December 14, 2017 by Jonathan Gilburg

August 2, 2017 by Joseph DiCenso

Dominant culture tells us knowledge is "out there," and it trains us to live in our head. Yet, in our body we each carry our own wise witness and intuitive genius. Recently, while co-leading a workshop during a personally challenging period, I turned to a practice of "listening" to my body and my non-linear mind for wisdom and guidance. I refer to this practice as embodied metaphor; it’s one way I'm reminding myself these days to harness the power I have and bring my best to the world, however unstable or bleak that world—or my inner terrain—may appear.

May 2, 2017 by Amy Gilburg

What makes someone a leader? How do we define or measure leadership? I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. There are the iconic examples— leaders like Martin Luther King or Steve Jobs—who impacted the world on such a large scale. But what about the everyday leader, whose small acts make one or a few people’s life better?

February 9, 2017 by Deborah Gilburg

We use the word "harvest" to denote "output" or "the fruits of our labor," when working with groups. Harvest is a synthesis of what has been learned, what rises to the top in the conversations, the insights, themes, patterns people are noticing, and any next steps. Not everyone likes the term, and we've had clients modify it to suit their own situations, which I think is great. There are all kinds of ways to "harvest" the output from a working group, but one I'm learning to do more of myself, is graphic harvesting (aka: graphic recording, visual recording, visual note-taking, graphic organizing, etc.).

October 24, 2016 by Amy Gilburg

I recently attended an event at my son’s school: a talk by the school psychologist about how to help our kids navigate the complex social environment of elementary school. The big take away for me was the importance of letting my son feel uncomfortable—to struggle even—because swooping in to fix a possible challenging situation isn’t helpful or advised. This guidance is contrary to my first instinct as a mom, to keep my son safe from experiencing pain—physical or emotional! But it is the very discomfort that enables him to mature and expand his capacity.

September 23, 2016 by Joseph DiCenso

Imagine yourself in a meeting. (Sorry, should I have provided a trigger warning?) Imagine you’re one of the “less-vocal” members of the group and you’re having a hard time getting a word in. You may have expertise to share regarding the agenda topic; you may have strong concerns, vital interests or basic questions regarding the issue. So it’s frustrating not being heard. All the more because it’s not your first experience of this and the ones sucking up the air in the room are the usual suspects.

July 18, 2016 by Jonathan Gilburg

I am incredibly saddened about recent events in Dallas, Nice, France, Baton Rouge, Minneapolis, Orlando and too many other places to mention. As I hear people talk about these events, it is clear that there are many wide, seemingly un-bridgeable gaps in perspectives, understanding, current realities, and sense of empowerment/entitlement in our dominant systems. Perhaps the greatest gap I’ve witnessed is our individual and collective capacities to even have a conversation with one another about these gaps. The rhetoric quickly devolves into firm stances and beliefs about the root of the problems and the solutions needed—further widening the gaps and defining the various “camps.” And we are left facing the same systemic problems, relatively untouched, perhaps even further exacerbated by much of the collective responses. It is heart breaking to watch people whose hearts have been irrevocably broken witness the damaging after–effects of an already tragic situation.

June 16, 2016 by Deborah Gilburg

I’ve been learning a lot about experimentation lately. For me, it’s not necessarily a comfortable concept, especially when the stakes are high. I prefer plans, strategies, accomplishing the goals I’ve set my sights on. Experimentation sounds kind of “iffy” to me – not really a solution, if you know what I mean. And experiments can fail, which is another thing I have trouble with. I like to get things right, especially when I feel pressured to do so!

So why experiment? We’ve all heard the rhetoric – complex problems, uncertain future, the call for more collaborative, innovative, sustainable solutions — and the adaptive mindsets to go with them. These messages are coming from many different sectors across public and private spheres throughout the world. And I believe those of us who have some career time left on the clock are pretty clear that change is needed, but the nagging questions remain… what kind of change? And more importantly, in a world littered with failed change initiatives, how?

May 13, 2016 by Joseph DiCenso

I consider myself a fairly skillful communicator. I’ve studied, practiced, taught and developed/refined several models for listening, providing feedback, and dealing with conflict. However, thanks to years of patient feedback from my spouse, and others, I’ve come to believe that mindset trumps skill set—every time.